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24 Aug 2005
PGS Precision plans to start commercial production of liquid lenses next year for use in digital cameras and phones.
A firm in Singapore is the latest to join the race to bring liquid lens technology to the market. PGS Precision, a provider of tools for injection molding, is to commercialize microfluic lenses developed at the country’s Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE).
The company has recently signed a non-exclusive technology licensing agreement with Exploit Technologies, the commercialization arm of Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) which governs IMRE.
PGS plans to start commercial production of the lenses by the second quarter of next year for applications such as miniature digital cameras found in mobile phones. The announcement brings new competition to European companies Philips and Varioptic, which have already demonstrated liquid lens products.
It has taken IMRE about 3 years to develop the technology, which allows the realization of very compact zoom and autofocus optics. "Our liquid lens comprises only a droplet and no other movable parts," explained Saman Dharmatilleke from IMRE. "It can potentially be used in any field where high-precision miniature optical systems are required," he said.
The liquid lens system alters its focal length by changing its shape. While most research to date has relied on an applied voltage to alter the curvature of the lens ("electro-wetting" phenomenon), IMRE manually adjusts the lens curvature without electricity using a thumbwheel to form and retain the shape of the liquid lens. As a patent on the design is pending, Dharmatilleke declined to disclose the material used to make the liquid lens.
PGS is certainly excited by the performance and benefits of liquid lenses. "The technology offers a low cost optical focusing system," said L. Hock Sim, managing director of PGS. "Both concave and convex lens can be formed from the same lens; it consumes just 1mW for auto focus with no power required at all for manual focus in cameras, has a fast response time, and gives excellent transparency while being extremely compact in size."
According to PGS, the prototyping and pilot run of the lens will be done in Singapore, while mass production will be done in the company’s China facilities. "The volume of production will depend on the demand from the mobile phone and digital camera segments," said Sim.
Author
Manoj Aravindakshan is Director of On Target Media a Singapore-based technology content provider.
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